A Shiba's Pride
by ShadowedNara
Summary: Ichigo is killed during the chaos of the Grand Fisher attack a few years earlier than in canon, but his father's got a suspicious request for Urahara before his son moves over to Soul Society... What's old Goat Face got to say, and how will this change Ichigo's life – or death... Rated M just to be safe. Initial one-shot.


_**AN: Hey guys, who would've thought that I would come up with another story idea, and a week before my exams start as well... Kami help me! :D This idea was bothering me for quite some time now, so I just had to get the thing started and out there, even if I might be spreading myself thin by starting another story. But I like a challenge, so we can add this one to the list of stories to finish ;)**_

_**Any ways, there's not mcuh to say in this note besides this is my first Bleach fic, so those of you who can, please help wherever you find I do something that I shouldn't, or something I could improve upon. It only makes it better for you guys in the end :)**_

_**Well, onto the story...**_

**Disclaimer: Bleach characters and all things Bleach are owned by Tite Kubo.**

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><p><strong>A Shiba's Pride<strong> by justinr1995

_Prologue: A Shinigami's Tears_

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><p>"Normal talking"<p>

'Normal thinking'

**"Hollows talking"**

**'Hollows thinking'**

"Zanpakutō talking"

'Zanpakutō thinking'

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><p>The crescent-shaped moon hung listlessly in the clear black sky of the night, the white rock casting its lunar rays upon the city of Karakura Town. Not a breath of wind accompanied this perfect night, and the temperature wasn't so high as to be considered stifling for that time of night, nor was it so low to be thought of as uncomfortably cold.<p>

The weather seemed to be in perfect harmony, and the quiet that filled the beautiful evening tied the whole picture of pure tranquillity together. The perfect night out for anything of an outdoor's nature – for the mother and son of the Kurosaki family, the perfect night out for an evening stroll.

Masaki Kurosaki, mother of Ichigo Kurosaki and newly born's Yuzu and Karin Kurosaki, the two twins who had been conceived a few weeks ago. She was a woman of average height, with fair skin and long, light, wavy brown hair that flowed down her back, tied into a pony with a few bangs hanging along the sides of her face down to her chin. A soft smile graced her face as she stared down at the small boy walking beside her – her son Ichigo.

He was only four years old and therefore not very tall at all. He wore a green t-shirt with the number 15 spread across the centre, with a pair of khaki trousers. His most notable feature however was his spiky orange hair, something which kids at the play school had recently started teasing him about. That happened to be one of the reasons he had joined up at the karate dojo a couple months ago; to try and learn how to protect himself from bullies.

He'd already made a very good friend there, a girl by the name of Tatsuki Arisawa. She would beat him in every single one of their matches, but that didn't detract from their friendship one bit. She had even managed to get rid of a few bullies herself, and for that reason Ichigo would always be indebted to her.

Besides his bright orange hair that was always garnering him unwanted attention, another of his distinguishing traits was his perpetual smile. It was always plastered across his face, his beaming grin letting others know just how happy he was. It was for no other reason besides being with his mother. Many people knew how much he loved his mother, and the two had been basically inseparable for the four years since Ichigo's birth.

Masaki had decided that tonight would be a good time to take Ichigo out on a walk and explain to him just what it meant having two little sisters now. She knew how much he loved her, and if she started to show more attention to his sisters, he might take it the wrong way – the mind of a four year old was a fickle thing after all.

"Ichigo-kun..." she began softly, turning her gaze towards her son, only for her eyes to widen immeasurably as she noticed his absence. "Ichigo-kun?!" She spun this way and that, her eyes darting left and right as she frantically searched for her wayward son. He had bright orange hair, and he literally stuck out like a sore thumb, so it shouldn't have been this difficult to spot him. But the amusement of that thought was lost on her as her eyes frantically continued to scan her surroundings.

That's when she felt it. With a start her head snapped to the left, the flowing river of Karakura Town gushing along as per the norm – save for the eerily suspicious plus that was sitting on the edge of the river's bank. Its reiatsu signature was that of a Hollow's, and her son was walking right up to it—

"No! Ichigo-kun!" But it was too late. Ichigo's hand touched the shoulder of the smaller girl, and at a speed that was completely lost on him, he was struck hard in the abdomen, his small body rocketing into the fast-approaching body of his mother, knocking them both to the ground.

Masaki gingerly raised herself into a sitting position, and looked down fearfully at her son clutched tightly in her arms. His body was unmoving; his chest not rising and falling like it was supposed to. Her heart began to race as the implications set in, and she gasped softly as she noticed a chain connected to his body, his soul connected to the other end just a few metres behind her.

Looking down at the body though, she let out a small sigh of relief upon noticing that his chain was still indeed connected to his body, so they'd still be able to save him. Her mind was so focused on the safety of her son however that it left her completely open to attack, and she didn't notice the Hollow's incoming arm until it was buried up to its elbow in her stomach, blood staining the dirt below her in velvet splotches.

She slowly raised her head to meet the Hollow's face, and she got her first good look at the monster that had attacked her and her son. It was extremely ugly and quite large, resembling a giant hamster with bird-like talons for hands and feet. Its body was covered in fur, and it had a tentacle-like protrusion hanging from its head, much like that of an anglerfish—

"Y-You're Grand Fisher... a-aren't you?" she choked out in between bloody coughs, the Hollow now twisting its arm as it bellowed loudly, it's deep chuckle reverberating through every fibre of her being through their connection. As much as she hated to admit it, this Hollow was a tricky one, having evaded Soul Society for over 45 years. She'd be lying if she said that she wasn't just a little frightened at the moment, and the massive wound in her stomach did plenty to heighten that fear she was experiencing.

**"Ha! It seems that my reputation precedes me!"** he started off loudly with an evil grin, the way his mask was shadowed under the moonlit sky sending several more chills down her spine. **"Now then, where was I..."**

Masaki let out a strangled cry as she was forced to cough out a significant amount of blood, the Hollow twisting his arm in her stomach this way and that before violently ripping it out altogether. Her eyes flew wide open as her wound now bled freely, and before she even had a chance to hit the ground, a razor sharp claw came swinging in from her left, sending her flying as it smashed straight through her and the ground she had been sitting on.

With a dull thud she landed next to the soul of her son, who was lying unconscious beside her. The outside world was lost to her for a few fleeting seconds as she simply stared at his softly breathing body, and she let out a few tears as the severity of the situation became all too clear. 'I'm sorry Ichigo-kun...'

A reverberating rumble echoed through her body as the form of Grand Fisher stalked ever closer to their unmoving forms, and for a split second Masaki thought that she was going to have to bear witness to the sight of this Hollow devouring her son right in front of her. That is until she found herself being raised into the air, and the form of her son slowly grew smaller. "I love you... Ichigo-kun..."

With her final breath used to say her last words to her son, her world faded to black as crunch after sickening crunch her body was devoured by the Hollow, splatters of blood coating several pieces of its green fur a deep scarlet. The Hollow's feast was quick, and its gaze travelled to the small boy lying not too far from him. He had made it a policy of his to only eat female souls, although this kid had such a high reiatsu, he couldn't possibly let it go to waste. **'Just this once I'll make an exception...'**

With his thoughts on the matter quelled, he grinned devilishly as he slowly reached for the orange-haired soul that would be one of his easiest meals yet, his long tongue emerging from within his mask to lick his bony lips.

"Awaken, Benihime!" A crushing spiritual pressure filled the clearing following the exclamation, and a condescending chuckle echoed through the quiet of the night. "You're quite the ugly one, aren't you?"

The voice belonged to a blonde haired man that was wearing an extravagant green haori, with a similar themed bucket hat atop his head. He was wearing a pair of wooden geta sandals, and his zanpakutō thrummed with excitement in his right hand, the deadly blade gleefully anticipating the spilling of Hollow blood. This man was none other than Kisuke Urahara, former 12th Division Captain and Head of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute.

The Hollow's face immediately became serious, and its muscles tensed as it prepared to flee. He hadn't managed to evade Soul Society's forces for over 45 years by being an idiot, and the weight of this reiatsu clearly told him all he needed to know about his opponent, as loathe as he was to admit it: this Shinigami was way out of his league, and he would surely meet his death here if he stuck around any longer.

With that in mind, he dove into his lure's body and fled the area with great speed; however, for the Shinigami who just happened to have stumbled upon this Hollow, it was as if it was moving in slow motion. Urahara began to give chase, before he noticed the two bodies lying in the area where the Hollow had just been.

He had vaguely remembered feeling another two reiatsu's earlier when the Hollow's reiatsu spiked, and one of them had clearly been killed here if the bloody remnants were anything to go by. The small boy however looked incredibly familiar, and with a wide-eyed gasp he realised why. "Ichigo-kun!"

He shunpo'd over to the unmoving boy and crouched down beside him, cradling him in his arms as he examined his wounds. He didn't seem to have any visible wounds on his spiritual body, and he simply seemed to be unconscious. His breath caught in his throat however when his gaze travelled a little further south, his eyes hovering over the boy's chest.

Another two soft thuds sounded out, signalling the arrival of two more guests, but Kisuke didn't even need to lift his head to tell who they were. "Kisuke, what's going on here?" The voice belonged to a slender dark-skinned woman of average height, with golden-coloured eyes and long purple hair tied up into a pony tail – Yoruichi Shihōin, former 2nd Division Captain as well as former commander of the Onmitsukidō.

The second set of feet belonged to a tall muscular man with black spiky hair and brown eyes, with a thin layer of stubble around his mouth and on his cheeks. He was Isshin Kurosaki, Ichigo's father and former captain of the 10th Division. "I felt Masaki's reiatsu, but I lost it on my way here. What's going—" His voice caught in his throat as he got a good look at the body in Urahara's arms, and he immediately rushed to his son's side, taking him out of the eccentric shop owner's arms and cradling his son against his chest. "What happened here Urahara?! And where's Masaki?"

Urahara's expression remained downcast as he glanced over at the massive pool of blood a little further ahead of them, his voice soft and laced with an undertone of regret. "It's purely speculation, but I believe that during Masaki and Ichigo-kun's evening stroll, they encountered the Hollow that managed to escape, Grand Fisher. That pool of blood, coupled with the disappearance of her reiatsu – I'm sure you've already come to the same conclusion that I have."

His face became more sorrowful as his eyes travelled from the pool of blood to the small boy in Isshin's arms, and he heaved a heavy sigh at what he was about to say next. "I imagine she fought to her dying breath to protect Ichigo-kun, but..." He let out another sigh and removed his hat, holding it over his heart as he spoke once more. "His soul chain has been severed; most likely during the chaos of it all; I trust you know what that means..."

The shop keeper turned his body so that he was fully facing the former captain of the 10th Division, getting down onto his hands and knees as he bowed his head down low, his nose making contact with the dirt below. "I'm so sorry Isshin. I got here as soon as I could, but it seems that I wasn't—"

"That's all right Urahara... you're not to blame for this. You have nothing to apologise for." Isshin's usually loud voice was barely above a whisper, and he just continued to stare sorrowfully at his son's unconscious face. He had just lost two of his most precious people – and both at the exact same time. His thoughts were a whirl of confusion and uncertainty, and he couldn't help but feel guilty for not coming to Masaki's aid as soon as he felt that Hollow's reiatsu.

He grit his teeth and held back a sob, his slowly moistening eyes reflecting the moon's white light with a twinkle. Giving another sorrowful look at his son, he couldn't begin to imagine how he would feel now that he'd have to grow up without a mother, without a family, possibly to wander the streets of the afterlife for who knew how long. 'Forgive me Masaki... I was unable to protect you and Ichigo... I will not fail again... I give you my word Masaki that I will not allow our son to grow up without knowing the love of a family... And I will protect our two daughters until my dying breath...'

Turning to Urahara, he put on as serious a face as he could; holding back his sorrow for just a bit longer so that he could ensure Ichigo a better future than what currently awaited him. "Urahara... I have a favour to ask—"

With a simple dismissive wave of his hat, Urahara got back to his feet and smiled glumly at his friend, already turning around and walking back in the direction of his shop. "No need to ask Isshin; everything will be ready at my shop in 30 minutes. Spend these last few minutes with your son. We'll see you in a few."

With his part said, Urahara shunpo'd out of the area, Yoruichi following a few seconds later after sparing Isshin and his son one more sorrowful glance. Isshin looked back down to his son and finally allowed the weight of the situation to settle in, his legs giving way beneath him, his body collapsing to the ground with Ichigo still safely in his arms. "Thank you... Urahara..."

XxX

Urahara landed soundlessly outside his shop, a serious look on his face as he entered the Urahara Shōten. As much as Isshin told him that this wasn't his fault in the slightest, he couldn't help but feel responsible. The guilt welled up inside of him as he thought about the tragic event – if only he'd gotten there a little earlier, or if only he'd sensed the Hollow a touch sooner, maybe, just maybe he could've saved Masaki and Ichigo.

He had condemned this boy to a life without his mother, and he knew all too well how much the orange-haired youth loved his mom. He felt it his duty to try and repair the damage he'd caused as much as possible, and that's just what he was going to do.

With swift movements he manoeuvred through the thin passageways of his shop until he found himself standing above a trap door in the floor. No sooner had the trap door been opened could we see Urahara already descending the massive ladder that lead into the shop's basement.

Before descending further though, he craned his neck out the top of the floor and angled his head towards the inside of his shop. "Tessai! I need you to meet me in the basement at once! This is of utmost importance my good friend!"

After waiting no less than a second, a booming voice was heard from within, the masculinity behind it clearly indicating the gender it belonged to. "O-Of course Kisuke! I'll be right there in a moment!"

With that part of his plan organised, Kisuke continued to descend the ladder that looked to go on for ages, his mind currently a myriad of thoughts and emotions. 'Don't worry Ichigo-kun... I'll do my best to fix the mess I made... I truly am sorry.'

XxX

It was with a heavy heart that Isshin sat perched up against a tree a few metres away from where the attack had happened, his current state of mind a desolate wasteland. His eyes were fixed to his son's orange hair, and he slowly ran his hands through the spiky strands, his body subconsciously rocking back and forth. "Ah, Ichigo... this is all my fault son. Your mother shouldn't have had to defend you in the first place – that's supposed to be the father's job."

He sighed wistfully before letting a bittersweet smile form on his lips, moisture once again coating the surface of his eyes. "Ah, your mother... what a woman. Did I ever tell you the story of how we met? Your mother actually saved me from biting the bullet," he choked out in between a small chuckle, glancing down at his son's face before looking back off at the crescent moon in the sky.

"It was a night much like tonight actually, except for the rain. I encountered a new kind of Hollow and..." A small lump formed in the back of his throat, and he took a moment to get a few deep breaths before continuing. "... she saved me. She risked her own life to save me, and after that day I couldn't stop thinking about her..."

He sighed again and took a few more breaths, all of them coming out shallower than the first. "It wasn't till a couple days later when I had to see her and came back, saving her this time – the way it should've been from the beginning. Then we got married a few years later, and then you were born a few years after that – I'll spare you the details of that though, at least until you're older—"

His free hand clenched into a fist after he realised what he'd said, and his walls finally came crashing down, his body shaking with silent sobs. It wasn't until several of the tears that slid from his eyes collided with his son's face that the orange haired boy slowly came to, his eyes taking a few seconds to adjust to the surrounding area.

"D-Dad? What's... going on? Where's that thing? And where's mom?" He slowly looked into the watery eyes of his dad, and the man quickly did his best to dry his eyes; but as much as he tried, he couldn't hide the streaks of red lining his eyes, the puffiness all too clear even in the darkness of the night. It was extremely unsettling for Ichigo, seeing someone as strong as his dad crying.

"Everything's fine Ichigo. Your mother's... gone away for a while," he started softly, his hand still running through Ichigo's spiky strands of hair, much to the boy's silent pleasure. "You'll be going there too, but don't worry about that too much. How about spending some quality time with your old man before you leave?"

Ichigo could feel the uncertainty in his dad's voice, and the fact that his dad just ignored his question and spoke around it instead led him to believe that something was very wrong, and what he had seen had not all been some horrible nightmare. He was as confused as a four year old would be, but he had always been slightly more mature for his age, so he had an inkling of what was going on.

With a small nod, Isshin slowly climbed to his feet and slid Ichigo around and onto his back, holding his son securely in a piggy-back. Ichigo's eyes drifted over to the pool of blood and he shut his eyes as tight as they could go, the dreaded images he'd witnessed from earlier unfortunately burned into his cranium, flashing before him in his mind's eye.

He had seen everything that had happened from when that... thing had eaten his mother, and it was something he desperately wished he could unsee. He had thought it was just a nightmare, but it seemed the world wasn't that nice. Hoping for what had occurred to just be a nightmare was wishful thinking at best. Everything that he'd seen had really happened, and if he was going to where his mother was... then was he dead too?

XxX

The walk to the Urahara Shōten was a fairly short one, and the two Kurosaki males just shared a comfortable silence, Ichigo's eyes slowly starting to close as they neared their destination, the rhythmic swaying of his dad lulling him into a deep sleep. He hadn't realised it before, but after the initial adrenaline from the previous situation had died down, he was slowly finding it harder to breathe, as if some kind of invisible weight was pushing down on him. It was surely helping him to doze off though. He felt as if sleep was the only thing he was capable of at that moment.

He couldn't find any other way to explain it, but he didn't want to worry his dad, so he kept a tight lip about it. He couldn't bear to worry his dad further... not after he'd seen him crying. That's why he also didn't tell his dad about the pain in his chest, a pain that would come for a few minutes before disappearing again entirely. It was a strange feeling, and his eyes were slowly becoming heavier, the thought of sleep slowly fading into reality.

Sleep was put on momentary hold however when he noticed that they were outside a shop, one he found all too familiar. He realised why when the man he vaguely remembered from earlier popped his head out the door and gave them a beaming grin, a small white fan being placed in front of his face not a second later. "Ah, Isshin, Ichigo-kun, please do come in! Everything's been prepared!"

Ichigo's dad followed after the man as he opened the door fully to allow entrance into his shop, and Ichigo spotted all different kinds of sweets and candy once inside. It was every kid's dream, and he found himself enjoying the thought of grabbing one of those swirl-faced candies; if only he wasn't so tired.

His eyes left the candy when the man with the white fan ushered them around the front till and into the back of the store, the trio eventually coming upon a trap door in the floor. The man stepped up to the door and slowly bowed his head, the fan staying presently in front of his face the entire time.

Ichigo could only imagine the grin the man must have been sporting. The excitement was barely containable in his voice, however there was an undercurrent of sadness as well. The man's personality seemed a little all over the place. "After you Isshin. I'll be right with you guys in just a moment."

With a barely noticeable nod from his dad, he slowly pivoted until his back was facing the whole in the floor before descending the ladder he hadn't noticed until now, Ichigo's drooping eyes widening upon noticing the veritable wasteland that was hidden beneath the seemingly ordinary candy shop. It looked like a cut-out from one of those western cowboy movies, and he couldn't help the slacking of his jaw as his dad landed on the brown dirt, kicking up a small cloud of dust.

"This place..." he started slowly, forced to take a long breath due to the phantom pressure upon him, taking but a moment to continue as he glanced around his dad's neck. "... this place is so cool!" The sheer incredulity of it all kick-started his inner-child, and for the first time since the attack, he found himself smiling. He would've felt ashamed if he'd realised that he could still smile after just finding out that his mom had been killed, but his four year old mind was momentarily encapsulated by this unimaginable phenomenon that should've, on all accounts of normal day life, been completely impossible.

A hulk of a man popped up in his peripherals, his dark hair corn-rowed with a massive handlebar moustache on his face, the latter of which was connected to his long sideburns. He was wearing a pair of rectangular-shaped glasses, and the only other thing Ichigo could take note of from his position was the blue apron upon his body, and the small white handkerchief in his hand, which he had placed up underneath his glasses.

"Oh, such a heart warming reaction young master Ichigo-kun!" he expressed joyfully, his voice constricted from the tears and sobs of joy. "I thank you for your kind words!"

Ichigo found the massive muscle-bound man's reaction quite enjoyable, and he gave a small strained smile; however, in his current condition it felt more like a sour wince, so he decided to just lay his head back on his dad.

The man with the bucket hat once again popped up in Ichigo's line of sight, walking towards a massive cloaked... 'thing' that Ichigo hadn't even noticed till now. His curiosity was about to get the better of him, and the question of 'What's that' was right on the tip of his tongue before the man in the bucket hat pulled off the massive cloak, revealing a rectangular arch of sorts.

Ichigo felt that very same question land on the tip of his tongue again; however the man with the bucket hat must've felt his curiosity, because he started explaining it not a moment later. "This my friends is my personal senkaimon – untraceable by Soul Society and doubling up as a Reishi Henkan-Ki." He allowed them some time to look at the marvellous machine in awe for a few more seconds, enjoying every moment of their dumbstruck faces before dramatically turning towards them, his green haori fluttering loudly in the wind. "But alas... I'm afraid that we'll not be using that baby just yet."

He advanced towards Isshin and Ichigo, his eyes glued to Ichigo's brown ones. Ichigo felt a slight sense of foreboding, but the comforting hands of his father kept him rooted to his spot, giving him the strength to remain still. "I know that a lot of this must seem confusing to you Ichigo-kun, but it will all be explained in time. For now, I need you to trust me."

Ichigo stared at the man a little longer before he managed a small nod, his body not too capable of anything more at the moment. With a small smile, Urahara reached into his pocket and pulled out a small tube-like device, holding it in front of Ichigo's eyes before flipping the switch, a bird's head popping up out of the device with an accompanying puff of smoke.

Ichigo's eyes dilated before closing all together, his body falling slack on Isshin's back. Feeling satisfied with his work, he glanced over to his long time hulk of a best friend and gave a small nod, motioning for him to come over. "If you would Tessai..."

The massive former Kido Corps Captain nodded at his de facto leader before placing his palms against Ichigo's chest, his hands being enveloped in a light blue glow. With a few more soft mutterings from the man, his eyes closed, and the blue glow around his hands intensified before leaving them all together, having found its way into Ichigo's body. The blue reiryoku travelled through Ichigo's body before stopping at his left bicep, a black crescent moon-shaped tattoo pressing itself into existence before the blue light faded all together. "The seal is in place Kisuke."

With a small nod, Kisuke pulled out a walking stick from... somewhere and began removing his zanpakutō from within, smiling grimly at Isshin once again. "Time to say good bye old friend..."

With a small nod, Isshin brought Ichigo back around to his front and gently placed him on the ground, laying him down with his son's head in his lap. With a small sad smile, he stroked his son's hair for what would most likely be the last time in his life, however knowing that his son would have a family where he was going, it gave him a minute feeling of hope, that maybe, just maybe, he hadn't failed his son as completely as he thought. "Goodbye... Ichigo... I will always love you my son..."

Urahara smiled sadly again before crouching down on his haunches, rotating his sword so that the hilt was facing forward, bringing it gently to Ichigo's forehead. With a small flash of light, Ichigo's spiritual body glowed blue as a bright light enveloped his body, before with another flash, his soul began fluttering away towards Soul Society.

Urahara placed a hand on his friend's shoulder as they watched Ichigo's soul rise into the sky before disappearing entirely, a small jingle echoing through the wasteland beneath the Urahara Shōten. His hand however left his friend's shoulder not a second later, and he pointed his finger in the sky, a small grin lighting his lips. "Phase one is complete!" he exclaimed dramatically, jumping to his feet and walking back towards his personal senkaimon, his haori flapping in his haste. "Come Tessai, we must prepare phase two!"

The massive man nodded his head and jogged over, Urahara taking a crouching position on one end of the senkaimon while Tessai mimicked the shop keeper's position, but from the other end. Kisuke glanced left to where Isshin was slowly getting back to his feet, a sombre expression on his face as he stared into the sky. "Do not fret my old friend! That seal Tessai placed on Ichigo-kun is soul-binding, and it is a specially designed tracking seal created by Tessai himself. We'll be using that to track Ichigo-kun within Soul Society—"

"What do you mean by 'we' Kisuke?" came a deep voice from the direction of the ladder, all occupants glancing in that direction to find none other than Yoruichi that cat present and accounted for. "You're lazy ass isn't going anywhere!" She sauntered up to Urahara's crouched form and slapped him a few times with her tail, her irritation quite clearly expressed through her thrashings.

"Au contraire my feline friend, without my genius we wouldn't be able to find Ichigo-kun in the first place!" Urahara had a mocking grin on his face, and his current mood was a direct contrast to several minutes ago, something Isshin found quite comforting. Which was probably why the shopkeeper was doing it he figured. It was familiar, and it gave Isshin a feeling that everything was more or less going to go back to the way they it was before.

"Never you mind Kisuke, just open the senkaimon before I introduce you to my claws." The threat was accompanied by a quick demonstration of said claws, and Isshin shuddered to think of the damaged that would be done if Kisuke persisted.

"Oh, such sultry prospects Yoruichi! Do you promise—" Whatever else was about to be said by the shopkeeper was swiftly cut off by four claw slashes to the face, the action effectively halting and shutting the man up.

"Enough fooling around Kisuke! Open the senkaimon!" The man in question, now lying on the ground with both hands covering his face, immediately jumped back to his feet and got back into position, all previous thoughts of him being injured thrown right out the window.

"As you command Yoruichi! Now Tessai!" With a concentration of reiryoku from both the shopkeeper and former Kido Corps Captain, the massive arch began to glow a hot white, the build up of reiryoku emitting small wisps of steam.

Before the senkaimon initiated however, the black cat turned its head around and gave Isshin an encouraging smile, its one eye winking back at the man, the sign of trust being acknowledged with a small nod. "Don't you worry Isshin. I'll take good care of him. I promise..." And with those last words being said, the room area around the arch flashed a bright white before dying back down all together, Yoruichi now missing from her previous perch and on her way to Soul Society.

Urahara slowly rose back to his feet and walked over to the arch, attempting to touch one finger to the spiritual barrier before being shocked by the immense pressure residing within the portal. "It's up to you now Yoruichi," he said softly, his voice barely a whisper in the eerie quiet that settled in after the departure of his female friend. "Keep him safe... Kami knows I wasn't able to."

XxX

_... need you to trust me... Ichigo... Ichigo... Can you hear me Ichigo... Goodbye... I love you... My son..._

"HAAA!?" Cold sweat rolled off his body as he shot bolt-right up, his breathing short and ragged. His eyes were unfocused, and he stared off blankly ahead, one hand gripping his forehead while the other gripped at his chest, the phantom pain he remembered feeling earlier conspicuously absent. His heart was beating a mile a minute however, and the way his clothes stuck to his body from the sweat only added to his current discomfort.

He tried to move his small body, but he felt incredibly weak at that moment, and he found he could only just get into a proper sitting position, wiping at the sweat on his brow. He tried to remember what had happened before now, but his mind couldn't come up with anything. Taking a good look around now that his eyes were focused and his breathing was a little more even, he found himself lying down in a small room that was completely empty, save for his small bed roll that was spread out in the middle of the room.

There was a small pile of clothes next to his bed roll, and there was a small window directly to his left, allowing a thick ray of light to penetrate the room and light it up accordingly. He could here several birds chirping away outside, and that was as reassuring a sign as he was gonna get that he was safe here he supposed – wherever here was.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds and took a few deep breaths, willing himself to keep calm and not panic. Panicking would be the absolute worst thing to do now. It was something that many young children often did when something out of the ordinary happened to them, but he found that keeping calm at times such as those was the best course of action, his maturity seeping through with those thoughts.

He let out a long breath and slowly opened his eyes again, a pair of slitted yellow ones meeting his deep brown hazels. He would've screamed if he hadn't let out all his breath a second earlier, so he instead opted for gasping for air, choking on nothing before eventually recomposing himself and looking up again at the black cat that was perched on his legs, its head tilted to the side in curious amusement.

'It almost looks as if it's... smiling at me,' he thought in confusion, the orange haired boy now having a stare down with the black cat.

"What's the matter Ichigo, you never seen a cat before?" The feline's voice was deep and laced with playful amusement, and Ichigo's eyes would've widened had he not started choking again, his body hunching over as he coughed wildly into his blankets.

When he finally found the ability to breathe properly again, his eyes were allowed to widen and he pointed a shaky finger at the black cat. "Y-You can talk!?" The cat tilted its head playfully once again and meowed, and Ichigo's features softened as he rubbed at the back of his head. "Man, I must be losing it—"

"Hehe, gotcha." The cat was once again smiling amusedly at the orange haired boy, said boy's jaw once again hanging unnaturally. Before the boy could phrase his previous question again, the cat perched itself in a sitting position right in front of the boy and licked absently at its paws. "My name is Yoruichi, and you are, for lack of a better word, dead. This place is where departed souls come after they've died. It's called the Soul Society."

Ichigo blinked at the cat a few times before glancing around the room, as if hoping to find something or someone that would explain just what the hell was going on. But no such luck, and his eyes once again found the face of the black cat. 'Yoruichi', he reminded himself. "So, uhm, I'm dead? Are you sure? I feel very much alive."

The cat chuckled at the boy's innocence, but eventually sent a sad smile in his direction. "I'm afraid so kid. You seem to be taking that fact fairly well however."

Ichigo smiled sadly at the cat before dropping his eyes down at his blankets, staring off absent-mindedly into the beige covers. "I can't really remember much of anything before waking up here in this bed. I suppose I'd be a lot sadder if I knew what I'd lost after dying."

The cat sweat dropped and tilted its head to the side again. "Jeez kid, have you always been this morbid?" At the kid's slightly downcast reaction, Yoruichi winced and silently reminded herself that this boy, no matter how mature for his age, was still just a boy, and four years old at that. She had to be patient with him and take things a little gentler. "Hey kid, if it's any consolation, there's some people outside who'd really like to meet you."

Ichigo glanced back up at the black cat, and he looked visibly surprised that there'd be people who wanted to meet him. "People... to meet me?"

This time Yoruichi smiled warmly at Ichigo, nodding softly is his direction. "That's right. Things work a little differently here in Soul Society – because people don't normally die along with their families, people come together here in Soul Society and make new families."

She got up from her seated position and moved a little closer to Ichigo, grabbing at his blanket and then giving it a small tug, walking towards the door in the room after making her point clear. "Come on; you've been unconscious for two days now. It's time to get on with life Ichigo. Your family from the Living World wouldn't want you to mope around and be miserable – they'd want you to be happy, so get up off that lazy ass and let's go!"

Ichigo continued to look down at his blanket, his expression unreadable. He clenched his fists in the blanket, his eyes moistening as the reality of it all suddenly set in. He was dead. He no longer had a family. But as hard as it was to admit, Yoruichi was right – his previous family from the Living World wouldn't want him to be miserable. That's the last thing anybody would want for their child. He knew he didn't want his family to spend the rest of their lives just mourning his death without getting on with their own lives.

With a shaky hand he reached up with the blanket and wiped at his eyes, his tears dampening the soft material. He looked back up at Yoruichi and put on a brave face, sniffling a few times before throwing the blanket off and shakily getting to his feet, finding it just a touch difficult to stand. He wouldn't let his family down. He wouldn't be miserable, and he would do his best to make this work. "O-Okay Yoruichi; let's go."

"Attaboy!" she cried encouragingly, turning towards the door and slowly moving towards it as Ichigo followed. She stopped and sent a small glance back however, grinning evilly in his direction, prompting Ichigo to stop in his tracks as well, lest he trample the cat. "By the way, you might want to throw on some clothes – I don't think they'll appreciate the morning wood as much as I do."

The reference was lost on the small boy, however he knew enough to feel incredibly embarrassed about being stark naked, and he immediately covered his man parts as best he could before fumbling around for the clothes on the floor, diving haphazardly back under the blanket. "Y-Yoruichi why didn't you say anything!?"

"Oh but I did say something. Maybe next time I'll oh-so-conveniently forget, and then we'll be in for a real treat," she said craftily, chuckling evilly at the door while Ichigo fumbled around under the blanket some more.

Ichigo continued to struggle for a little longer before re-emerging from under the material, his face beet-red and his eyes not making any contact whatsoever with the cat's. "C-Can we just go... please!"

"Okay, okay, don't get your panties in a twist, jeez. If you'd be so kind as to open the door – I am a cat if you couldn't remember."

Ichigo's face once again reddened, and he could've sworn he saw the black cat snicker, but he obliged nonetheless, walking over to the barrier and swinging the door open, the bright light from the hall filtering into the bedroom. "Lead the way you perverted cat."

Said cat snickered a little more and slipped past the orange haired boy, taking a right in the passage. "All right, all right, follow me."

She led him down a long passage, the pair passing a few doors before coming to the end of the hallway, a door placed right at the end. A loud ruckus could be heard coming from within, and Yoruichi glanced back with a chuckle as the fight from inside filtered through into the passage.

"... hey I said shut it you restless twerp before I plant my fist in your face! How many times have I told you that Bonnie stays outside!? This is a home for people, not pigs! Though we do still allow you in the house, so I suppose that's not entirely true..."

The woman's voice that had been shouting for the better part of their walk to the front of the door had a smug tone to her voice, and Ichigo could almost feel the shit-eating grin that the woman must have had plastered across her face after that final comment.

"Bonnie's a part of this family too, so she'll stay in here whether you like it or not! Just because you're my older sister doesn't mean you get to boss me around!"

The second voice was definitely male, however it sounded like a kid's voice, maybe a few years older than Ichigo. However the silence that followed after was almost deafening, and it was just at that moment that Ichigo noted the absence of the black cat.

Too little too late however, because not a moment later was he pierced in the ass by a multitude of what had to be a cat's claws, the violent action sending a shrill of pain through his body and jerking him right through the shoji door, the orange haired boy face planting into the ground on the other side, right in the middle of the two who were arguing. "I... really hate you... Yoruichi..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Well, that's first chapter up, let me know what you think. I know it might have been a little slow, and Isshin and Urahara might have seemed a little OOC at the beginning, but it was a tragic event, so how could he not... we never see Isshin's reaction in the anime...<strong>_

_**Anywho, hate it, like it, love it, please let me know, either review, PM, favourite or follow, or all at the same time... choose your poison :D Hoping for some good (if any at all) feedback, so without taking up your time any further, I'll see you all (hopefully) next chapter (however, as I said I have exams soon, so don't expect an update soon - my other readers from my other stories will know this).**_

_**J**_


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